Ashlords

One of the novel’s three protagonists, Adrian is a Longhand, a descendant of the Ashlords who rejected the gods, splitting off from Ashlord society and establishing themselves in the Reach. Adrian has trained his whole life to be a part of his father’s rebellion. He is tall and muscular, sporting a physique that intimidates even the Ashlords. The Longhands are ranchers and drivers; consequently, Adrian is well trained in handling a horse. Adrian’s pride in his people is evident in his commitment to the rebellion and his disdain for Ashlord rule. Adrian’s grandparents’ generation staged a failed rebellion against the Ashlords, resulting in mass persecution and suppression of the Longhands. The most barbaric consequence of this rebellion was that the Ashlords executed the firstborn child of each Longhand family, including Adrian’s mother, who managed to escape this punishment until Adrian was two years old. At the beginning of the novel, Adrian’s father, Ben, reveals this story to him as a means of further motivating him to become the figurehead of the rebellion.

Adrian is, at first, unquestionably loyal to his father, who intends to use Adrian’s victory in the Races as the spark to ignite a second Longhand revolution. He feels The Effects of Familial Pressure as he accepts his role in the rebellion, but during the Races, Adrian’s perspective of the world and his father begins to shift. As a Longhand, Adrian faces discrimination and dangers, including biased media coverage, a foiled poisoning, and an attempt to sabotage his phoenix’s ashes, all designed to give his Ashlord competitors an unfair advantage. The attacks culminate in an attempt on his life by an alliance of Ashlord riders on the first night of the Races. Adrian barely escapes with his life due to the unsought divine intervention of one of the Ashlords’ gods, the Dread, despite the fact that he refused the Dread’s offer of alliance.

Over the course of the novel, Adrian learns about The Relationship Between Mercy and Power, both through his observations of the Ashlords and through his own experiences. His decision to save Capri highlights his decision to prioritize mercy, yet Adrian recognizes that to win the rebellion, the Longhands will have to become as merciless as the Ashlords. This is reinforced by his interaction with Pippa in the carriage at the end of the Races. Adrian briefly feels chemistry between them as Pippa stitches the wounds she inflicted on him. However, the intimate scene makes Adrian recognize that mercy is always the choice of the victor—and the scars on his body will be a reminder of that mercy thereafter. Adrian’s narrative arc ends as he heads off to the east to help lead the Longhand forces against the Empire.

The daughter of two famous race winners, Pippa is the natural favorite in this year’s race. She has dark hair and eyes and sharp features, and like all Ashlords, she radiates an inner heat—evidence of the gods’ blessing. Pippa’s chapters are written from the second-person point of view, reflecting a life lived in the spotlight and the constant sense of being observed and described; her second-person narrative gives the impression that she, like the rest of the Empire, is a spectator of everything she does. From a young age, Pippa has trained to win the Races, dominating the amateur circuits and working hard to become a prodigy at fighting and alchemy. While she is the most privileged of the three protagonists, she has worked hard to attain her image and her position. Her motto is that the harder she works, the more luck she has.

Despite being the representative of the Ashlord perspective in the novel, Pippa’s beliefs and values do not entirely accord with Ashlord society, and she rebels in her own way. She critiques entrenched traditions that strike her as uselessly formal and only embraces the more violent, authoritarian parts of her culture when it suits her. She demonstrates a greater capacity for empathy than her compatriots, character growth that is spurred on by her growing relationship with the spirit Quinn during the Races. Returning to rescue Etzli from the sun wraith mine marks a key shift in the trajectory of Pippa’s character arc. Ashlords are trained to be self-sufficient and win by any means necessary; guilt and compassion are not in their vocabulary. Saving Etzli not only cements Pippa’s bond with Quinn but also suggests that Pippa may be able to become the type of leader who can lead with empathy, guiding her people away from their authoritarian ways.

Imelda’s best friend, Farian, has an aptitude for filmmaking, preferring it to farm work, even though he is the fourth son in a family of farmers. Because he is a Dividian, he is unlikely to ever be able to afford to go to university to study filmmaking—his dearest wish. However, this does not diminish his basically optimistic nature: Instead, he focuses his efforts on building an online following for Imelda, whom he dubs “the Alchemist.” Farian’s shrewd mind for business and keen eye for framing shots help Imelda’s resurrections gain almost as many views as Pippa’s videos.

Farian’s role in the novel is to act as Imelda’s biggest supporter, encouraging her to pursue her dreams when she is down on herself. After his film of the “Trust Fall” resurrection wins Imelda the Dividian scholarship to the Races, Farian visits Imelda in Furia, where he again lifts her spirits when she has lost confidence in her ability to compete against her privileged Ashlord competitors. Imelda does not forget Farian’s love and loyalty: When she breaks the game by illegally exiting the Races, she sends Farian 25,000 legions as his cut of the proceeds from selling the stolen components. Farian accepts this as a sign that Imelda is still alive, giving him hope—as well as the funds to finally attend university.

Quinn is a spirit summoned by Prama through a ritual with the Madness to help Pippa win the Races. She is one of three spirits taking part in the Races. Quinn’s participation in the Races gives some context as to how the gods interact with and manipulate the world on the Ashlords’ behalf. While the gods provide the Ashlords with the gifts and powers they use to rule the world, they are also cruel enslavers of Quinn’s people.

While Quinn is there to help Pippa, she has motives of her own. Fulfilling her contract with Pippa will give her powers in the underworld, which she will use to defy the gods. Despite the transactional nature of their relationship, Quinn and Pippa quickly form a deep bond that is intensified by the fact that they can hear each other’s thoughts and feel each other’s emotions. For example, Quinn feels the pain that Pippa experiences when Bravos betrays her.

Quinn proves herself to be loyal and a quick learner, able to control Pippa’s phoenix, a feat that would ordinarily require a longer bond. Quinn also has a strong moral conscience and teaches Pippa to be merciful and empathetic. In return, Pippa gives the spirit the means to escape her enslavement in the underworld and start her own rebellion. The bond they share fundamentally changes Pippa, and their newfound blood connection foreshadows their continued involvement with each other in Bloodsworn.